Quick Summary
In Dies irae Episode 6, “Golden Beast,” Shirou Yusa and his pistol go head to head with Wilhelm Ehrenburg and his vampiric spikes. Can a normal human like Yusa hope to compete with Wilhelm? Kei Sakurai insists that Ren Fujii come quietly, and of course he insists otherwise. He seems like an even match for her until Valeria Trifa announces the arrival of that pinnacle of arrogance, Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich. What hope does Fujii have against a monster like that when even Marie, the spirit of the guillotine, is terrified?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
What’s In This Post
Quick Episode Summary
3 Favorite Moments
Thoughts
Related Posts
3 Favorite Moments
Yusa’s description of how terrible it was to live with constant déjà vu (starting around 0:17) brought an unexpected depth his character. I’ve experienced it only rarely, so I haven’t given déjà vu a lot of thought. But Yusa lives through it all the time. It’s no wonder he describes it in such harsh tones (0:34). Having to live a life where nothing feels new, and in fact every experience feels like something you’ve done before but can’t quite remember when, would be maddening.
I thoroughly enjoyed Yusa’s battle with Wilhelm on the freeway (10:20). The action in and of itself was a lot of fun. I mean, who doesn’t like seeing cars fly this way and that in the villain’s wake? And of course, if you’re a fan of Terminator 2 (which you could buy from Amazon!), you’ll recognize the use of liquid nitrogen as a weapon. Pretty smart of Yusa! But the reason I picked this scene as one of my favorites is the teamwork between Yusa and Erii Honjou.
She’s apparently a computer genius, because she sits in a room surrounded by surveillance feeds from all over the city. She turns those feeds into tactical information Yusa can use in his fight. It’s hard to overstate just how important a good support structure can be in a battle! On a side note, Yusa earns the Award for Most Unoriginal Yet Honest Insult of the Week. When Wilhelm asks just who he is, Yusa answers, “Who knows? Maybe you just suck.”
Talk about making a dramatic entrance! Reinhard’s entry into the world was suitably impressive and terrifying, especially for Fujii (14:07). The idea that Reinhard’s presence manifested almost as a gravity wave was cool; Fujii’s terrified yet furious reaction cemented Reinhard’s role as Chief Villain. Marie’s reaction — feeling fear for maybe the first time in her life — actually made me feel sorry for her! The scene demonstrated the scope of Reinhard’s power. It also showed, unfortunately, that Fujii just isn’t paying attention (see Thoughts, below). It also showed just how uncool our heroes are by comparison — except maybe Yusa and Honjou.
Thoughts
To give credit where credit’s due, Fujii’s fighting acumen has improved dramatically. We didn’t see how he improved, but it’s clear he’s better. He easily held his own against Sakurai, and he was even able to move after the pressure from Reinhard’s emergence pinned him to the ground.
That being said, here starts rant mode…
Unfortunately, one thing that hasn’t improved is his common sense. I get that he’s young and high-spirited. I understand that he wants to protect his friends. I sympathize with him because he wants to defeat the bad guys — who are really, really bad. But having intense feelings and running around screaming with sharp objects doesn’t count for a lot in combat. Especially combat against a capable foe.
Which are enemies clearly are.
Fujii knows that Reinhard’s supposed to be the most powerful of all the villains he’s encountered until now. Fujii should be doubly aware of this because he knows that Sakurai’s among the least powerful, given her newbie status. He sees he’s probably capable of defeating her on a good day. So what, exactly, did he expect to accomplish by attacking Reinhard head on? He said it himself after he ran into (and was repelled by) Valerian: “I still don’t know anything.”
He doesn’t need to keep proving it!
Wouldn’t the better approach be to starting learning something? Take a look at what Yusa and Honjou have been able to accomplish by investing in a strategy. She was able to guide him at least to an impasse with Wilhelm, who’s no slouch! Fujii apparently thinks it’s a crazy idea, but what if he accepted Yusa’s offer of a partnership? Wouldn’t that increase his odds of victory?
Or at least his odds of not dying? And quickly, at that?
Fujii has a lot at stake. If he dies, what’s going to happen to Kasumi Ayase? Apparently, Rea Himuro, called Theresia by Valerian, is in danger, too. The mistakes he’s making are just irresponsible. It’s hard for me to root for a character that makes such silly decisions.
And what about Marie? All Fujii’s stunt accomplished was getting her cleaved from him. She didn’t look too healthy by the end of this episode. Neither did he. That’s the only logical outcome of his attack!
Jeesh, what a dumbass!
Disabling rant mode now…
Maybe I’m being too hard on Fujii. Or should I be even more harsh? What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Other Posts of Interest
Other Anime Sites
- 100 Word Anime: Dies Irae Episode 6: Shiny Lights and Stuff Goes Boom
- Manga Tokyo: Dies Irae Episode 6 Review: Golden Beast
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Dies irae Episode 0: The Dawning Days
- Dies irae Episode 1: Twilight Girl
- Dies irae Episode 2: The Claws and Fangs of a Beast
- Dies irae Episode 3: The End of the Nightmare Is a Beginning
- Dies irae Episode 4: Spider
- Dies irae Episode 5: Reunion
- Dies irae Episode 7: Swastika
- Dies irae Episode 8: Promise
- Dies irae Episode 9: A Mother’s Sins
- Dies irae Episode 10: Einherjar
- Dies irae Episode 11: Self Destruction Factor
